Madonna's son returns to New York amid custody battle

Madonna's teenage son has returned to New York City for the first time since sparking an international custody battle in December (15).

The pop superstar launched a court fight in both the U.K. and U.S. after Rocco Ritchie refused to head back to his mother's home in the Big Apple after spending the Christmas holidays with his director dad Guy Ritchie in London.

Judges on both sides of the Atlantic urged the warring parents to put their issues aside and settle their dispute for the sake of the 15-year-old, and they appeared to call a truce during Madonna's trip to London in early April (16), when she was reunited with her son.

Now Rocco has been photographed back in New York, grabbing an iced coffee with a friend near Madonna's Upper East Side home on Tuesday (31May16). He arrived in the Big Apple on Saturday night (28May16), reports the DailyMail.co.uk.

News of the teenager's return to his mother's adopted home city comes a day before Madonna and Guy's next New York court date.

At the time of her original custody filing, Madonna accused her ex-husband of effectively kidnapping their boy by declining to send him back to New York, where Rocco had been living with his mom and her adopted children David and Mercy.

She has since had her London court case dismissed, after expressing her desire to only continue proceedings in New York.

Lawyers for the former couple are expected to offer an update on custody talks at Wednesday's hearing, but it seems Madonna's peace talks with Guy have worked wonders for her relationship with Rocco and his dad.

"Since Madonna's return to London, things have taken a definite turn for the better...," a source told the Daily Mail at the time. "Everyone is happier than they have been for weeks and it's great for all of them that life is getting back to normal."

Madonna and Guy previously agreed it was best for the singer to raise Rocco in New York as part of their divorce settlement in 2008. The stars were married for eight years, during which time they also adopted 10-year-old David Banda.

The Material Girl hitmaker is also mom to daughters Lourdes Leon, 19, and Mercy James, 10.

Guy lives in London with his wife Jacqui Ainsley, who he wed last July (15), and their young kids Rafael, Rivka and Levi.